Before the Fall

Before the Fall stars Max Riemelt as Friedrich Weimer, a talented boxer who is recruited into Napola, an elite fascist school. When his friend Albrecht Stein played by Tom Shilling commits suicide, Friedrich throws a fight to make a stand against aggression. Riemelt is a very good choice for the leading actor in this role. He embodies the all of the graceful and powerful qualities of his youth, and brings a young future oriented feeling with him that you can feel with your heart. Schilling is also very good in his role as a sensitive youth. However, the problem in the film comes with the film's ending which although being the correct response to fascism to me is unbelievable given the setting. What a powerful and tidy first and second act I must say. The only thing is that perhaps this school comes off a bit soft considering what was actually going on. With all of the yelling and screaming, I'm willing to bet that Napola in actuality did manage to succeed in beating out every single subtle impulse out of every single student. This might however be a true story, in which case I stand corrected. In everyone except two students then. It seems to me to go through the many successions and trials that the film presents, the characters should logically end in a 180 degree spiritual demise, and subsequently the lead character, who through lessons of fascism, war, and aggression, should make a 180 degree turn from an innocent optimistic youth to into a war machine, a combat unit, a soldier. This would be enough for me, but I am afraid that perhaps the screenwriter felt he had to say something positive rather than negative. This is a shame because it does take away greatly from the film in my opinion. Rather to deny the "cinematic moment" which doesn't work anyway, in order to state unequivocally the end result of such tyranny on a personal level for these Hitler youths would again in my opinion be the right choice, without re-writing the entire script. Now weather or not this is worth saying and making a film about this is another question. My answer is that if there was nothing more important to say about Fascism, then that premise alone would have been a film worth making, proving that premise in the film. It is interesting that some films don't need premises to prove, and this could have been one of those films. These are mostly war films, such as Patton, where it seems that the universal threat and the action can subsist nicely with only an interesting plot. Other non-war films would be Breaking Away and Star Wars. These films work rather nicely without a strong underlining premise to prove. As it stands: good to great moments, great tension in most of the film, but in the end a let down because of a weak or non-existent premise and to me an unbelievable plot.

Apart form the films of Michael Haneke, this was one of the few German language films in recent years that left a lasting impression on me. It offers a realistic - and haunting - portrayal of what it must have been like for the youths during the dark years of the third reich to be 'bred' and drilled to meet the required Nazi standards for the "master-race". Impressive, well acted cinema from Germany. 8 stars out of 10. In case you're interested in more underrated gems, here's some of my favorites: imdb.com/list/ls070242495

This film is about the a type of Nazi school called the NPEA, which means NAtional POLitische erziehungs Anstalt (National Political Education Institute) design to train the future Gauleiters (heads of Nazi Districts) of the world. Napola was the popular name for the schools; just as Nazi was for NAtional soZIalist. The movie starts in Berlin during the middle of the second world war. A young Friedrich fights in a boxing match and ends up impressing a teacher at the Napola school for the Nazi Elite. In the end he gets an invitation to attend the school. The film heavily leverages contrasts. Friedrich is a simple boy of non remarkable parents (the father could be communist, one of the Nazi party's strongest foes) who forges his fathers signature to get into the school. At one point we are introduced to one of Friedrich's roommates. Sigfried has a bed wetting problem and is made a public example of. Later during an exercises with live grenades he sacrifices himself to save his friends. He gets a hero's death. The teacher that made a public example of him runs on the other hand, leaving the boys in harms way. It was the weakling bed wetter that saves the day. Here we also have the biblical image in play of a man laying his life down for his friends. Albrecht, the best friend of Friedrich is a poet and tends more to the artistic side of life. He is fond of writing poetry, while his father (who is the Nazi Gauleiter of the region) has a very brutal side which will become apparent in the movie. His father despises him for his weakness, but takes Friedrich as a man after his own heart after a demonstration at his home. The students are called to help in an "action". Certain events happen that cause both Albrech and Friedrich to question themselves and their future. Albrech uses his writing skills to protest what had happened. The consequence is very severe unless he writes a retraction. He does not. Instead he chooses a different way that traumatizes Friedrich and brings shame to his father. Friedrich suddenly sees things through Albrecht's eyes and decides to do something on his own. The message of the movie is clear. Success in this school is not necessarily determined by intelligence--but rather brutishness. Those who have any ounce of humanity are weeded out. Then we find in these "perfect" exemplars surviving this elimination serious character defects that have separated them from humanity. What I like about this movie very much is that it contains the interesting paradox that when you try to root out humanity--it is only found in greater abundance as which is what happens to Friedrich. The final contrast is that instead of making a better Nazi of Friedrich--it make him a better human instead. So as he failed at the school, he succeeded in life. I highly recommend it even if you have no interest in the history of World War II or the Nazi's its a very good story!

BEFORE THE FALL ('NAPOLA') is a brilliantly made film that addresses the blind hopes of youth in becoming a success as a man, a factor that allowed and allows dictators to entice young men into the realm of warriors under the guise of applauded bravery and the golden promise of achieving glory for a great cause. This story just happens to be about Hitler and his 40 Napola (training camps for the elite German youths in 1942) and the young boys and men who trained in these National Political societies. It could be found in many places and in many times... Friedrich Weimer (handsome and talented young Max Riemelt) comes from the lower class in Germany (his father is aiming him toward factory work) and is a fine young boxer. His talents are noted by some representatives from the Nazi party and he is asked to report for enrollment in a Napola, an important means of education and training that Friedrich sees as being his way to become something special, someone important. His father is anti-Nazi and refuses to let Friedrich go, but Friedrich is determined and runs into the night to join the Napola. Once there he is admitted, groomed as a boxer for the Napola, and introduced to the Hitler's youth movement. His fellow classmates vary from the very wealthy to other fine Arian lads. They are trained, observed, and brainwashed as to the glory of the Thousand Year Reich. Problems begin to arise when Friedrich gets to know his fellow classmates: Siegfried (Martin Goeres) is a bed wetter and is humiliated publicly for his problem; Albrecht (Tom Schilling) is a poet and writer whose father is one of the governors of the Napola and Albrecht is anti-war; other lads seem on the surface to be obedient yet most have hidden reservations about what they are doing. Being 1942 some changes are occurring in the Nazi dream and the Senior class is sent out on a mission to fight the enemy. And one night Friedrich's class is called out of bed and sent into the woods to find Russian soldiers who are 'threatening' their security. The boys open fire on the Russians only to find that they have killed a number of unarmed Russian boys. This profoundly disturbs them all, but Albrecht in particular. Friedrich continues to observe the manner in which he and the other boys are used and slowly his best friends find ways to martyr themselves and ultimately Friedrich does the same in his only way - by changing the way he approaches the Napola expectations of his boxing. Max Riemelt as Friedrich is outstanding: not only does he have the solid extraordinary good looks but he also can act, satisfying every nuance of this challenging role. The remainder of the cast - both young boys and the adults running the Napola - are superb. The cinematography is subtly beautiful, ranging from the tough interiors inside to the vistas of a Germany before it was destroyed by the not too distant fall. Director Dennis Gansel, who co-wrote the script with Maggie Peren, is a young man (the featurette with the DVD has an enlightening conversation between Gansel and Riemelt) knows exactly how to capture both the wide-eyed innocence of youth and the slowly crumbled ideals of young men. This is an outstanding film to see and experience. Its lessons are terrifying and intense. In German with English subtitles. Grady Harp

How many films have we seen about a boy's school that stifles people who are free thinkers? Well here is another. The difference is it is in German and the backdrop is Nazi Germany, but the elements are the same- ostracized strong anti-hero meets up with frail intellectual in school and their friendship gives them strength to realize what they are participating in is not quite reflective of who they are. They try to buck the system, showing their true feelings- and the system reminds them it is the winner in all of these fights. There was nothing extraordinary about this film, everything it covered has been covered better elsewhere but this film does not suck, it's actually OK and watchable, just not amazing or must-see. BTW there are no women in this film to speak of, so if you are gay, you will probably give this film a 10 for all the schoolboy scenes. I'm giving it a 6 for been there-done that show me something new.

Ouh, it's so emotional, can you feel it? these hard times? man, i really like Dennis Gansel's approach to commercial stuff and even more his co-writer's Peren. but yesterday i saw I'm receiving the Bavarian film award for "best director" and he said, that he always wondered and never understood why so many Germans felt attracted by the Nazis. mmh, i always thought director's do have a bigger imagination, but so what - his conclusion : sons didn't get enough respect from their fathers and did like sports and uniforms, is after all not THAT surprising, eh? NApola tells his story from the similar naive,not very interesting point of view "Der Untergang" did recently. in fact a lot of critics etc. always wanted German films to be more like professional entertaining Hollywood stuff - here it is. Napola is not boring. Well acted. BUT the friendship of the main characters is not convincing, unless you understand it as a kind of "Love at first sight" homo-couple. (Why NOt? But I'm afraid Gansel didn't get it). There's no scene showing the meaning of their friendship - even the one stroll in the snow lasts just a few seconds in a very distant shot. Maybe they cut a lot to be more effective in a commercial sense, whatever. AND the "Farewell-SCENE" on the ice is really bad. Riemelt spend so much time with crying and screaming, you wonder why he didn't try to get back in the water to help his friend. The Points of view "Through but not really through the ice" is after all the worst moment in a movie. They chose "the beauty shot" instead of being real in this moment... All in all, not bad, could have been much better without less commercial value.

The subject matter is not unfamiliar - a decent German (in this case a talented young boxer) fights to retain his humanity in the face of Nazi pressure to lose it as a bad habit. At heavy cost to himself he refuses. And thinking back to the beginning of the movie we should not be surprised: to accept the invitation to attend an elite academy he must defy his father. To maintain his self-respect later on he must defy the surrogate fathers he has acquired at the academy. This a superbly produced, directed film. The young actors' performances are believable and affecting. And for people who care about such things, Max Riemelt as Friedrich, the young, virile, gorgeous protagonist is a very easy guy to look at. Jim Smith

There seems to be a lot of controversy over whether or not these boys are gay. Homosexuality is so "in style" in this age, that everything seems to get tainted in one way or another. Not to mention all the implications over the years that Hitler was "Gay". This is absolutely ludicrous. It was an amazing film. The 2 young stars were sensational. I think somebody hit it on the nose when they said its all because the 2 stars are attractive males. They are both very handsome young men and I'm sure many homosexual men out there would love to think that there was "sexual tension" between the two youths but get over it! Not every person in this world is gay! Quit trying to change Earth into the "Gay Planet".

The main problem with NAPOLA is that it tries to hard to deliver its message: the Nazi regime was bad, the Nazis were evil and history repeating must be prevented at all costs. But opposed to DER UNTERGANG their message is obscured because they are not portraying the Nazis as people but instead cardboard characters. Gauleiter Stein is hands down the most stereotyped character, I have seen in a Nazi movie. The scene where he sets up a boxing match between Friedrich and Albrecht in his cellar is totally unbelievable. DER UNTERGANG succeeds in portraying the most evil person in recent history, Hitler, as a human being, which makes him even more chilling. But in NAPOLA the Nazis are just stereotyped one dimensional persons. They seem to posses only one human characteristic: malice. This makes them easier to disown as "monsters". As a matter of fact most Nazis - even the ones that carried out the most brutal crimes against humanity - were kind family fathers. They seemed to have two personalities: a public and a private one. When you see a human being with human emotions carry out outrageous acts, these acts seem all the more frightening than if you see a monster carrying them out. NAPOLA misses the target because of the inept characterization. The friendship between Friedrich and Albrecht is also very hard to comprehend since the development of their friendship goes from "total strangers" to "best friends" in a matter of seconds. The writer/director should have paid the development of that friendship more attention since it is a key element in the movie. The strict father/creative son relationship which leads to the suicide of the son is a total ripoff of DEAD POETS SOCIETY. At least they could have tried to twist the story just a tiny bit to make it somewhat unpredictable. The movie itself is spectacular when it comes to settings, costumes and cinemagraphy. Beautiful work. Though I really wanted to like NAPOLA, in the end I walked out of the theater disappointed. Maybe I was expecting too much.

Napola refers to elite military National-Political Schools, set up to train promising young German talents into potential future leaders for the Third Reich - Man makes History, but Napola makes the Man. Set at the peak of Hitler's Nazi regime in 1942, this film explores the very different lives of two youths enrolled in such a school, and exposes some of the difficult training programme that these youths are put through. Friedrich Weimer graduated as a Hitler youth, and spends time juggling work with boxing. Impressing a talent scout with his boxing skills, he gets recruited into one of the Napola schools, to be trained as an athlete to bring the school glory. Coming from a poor home, he sees this as a chance to bring wealth for this family, although they disagree with his joining the Napola. Albrecht Stein is the son of the governor. What he lacked in the brawn department, he makes up with his gift for the written word, which often goes unappreciated, even with his parents. Two youths from different backgrounds bond together as good friends, as they undergo the tough regimental training the school has to offer. At times, it's like Dead Poet's Society in a WWII German military setting, where they challenge and subtly question the establishment and their methods. Even though the school is made up of a recruited pool of the privileged few, basic evils of man persists, like corruption and jealous rivalry. The different subplots and set action pieces unravel our protagonists' characters, and we see them develop in depth. From a wide-eyed promising talent, we journey with Friedrich as he slowly comes to terms with evaluating if one should sell out one's beliefs for fame and wealth, blinding the disappointment faced in the system. Albrecht, while meek looking, held on to his ideals, especially after a sad episode in the fields, and when being forced into a corner to renounce this ideal, found untold courage to actually do what he did, at the expense of everything else - friendship, family. Which brings us to question, how many of us, if knowing what's right, will do the right thing, or take the easy way out and turn our backs towards the truth? We are also exposed to the highly fanatical training methods of the Nazis, of showing no pity, and signs of cowardice are treasonous. Those who've undergone some form of army training will appreciate the nature of military training - from the physical exercises, punishments, and stand-by-bunks, to the bonding of bunk mates and "suffering" under the hands of sadistic superiors. It is no surprise that Napola won various awards for film, acting and direction, It's rich cinematography and haunting soundtrack brings to life Nazi Germany of 1942, and highlighting the horrors of the training of an elitist school of soldiers and future governors, with its expected training tragedies. This is a movie with powerful themes, with an introspective look at the development of man under difficult fanatical regimes revealed in a moving drama.